One of the discoveries of “IG Nobel prize” turned out to be useful

21.09.2017

Liquid cats and cuddling with crocodiles, after which we become more courageous, long ears of the old men who are constantly growing, and many other incredible discoveries… At Harvard University on Thursday the 27th announced the long awaited winners of the IG Nobel prize awarded for research of questionable scientific value. Than this time distinguished “scientists nobelity” learned “MK”.

photo: pixabay.com

“At first laugh, then think” — says the motto of the award. Of course, what’s going on here, nothing else, as a show, it is impossible to call. The history of the “Nose” remembers cases turning frogs into Princess. Namely, as the Russian physicist Andrei Geim in 2000 was awarded an IG Nobel prize for levitating a frog, and then, in 2010, the Nobel for obtaining graphene.

Who knows, maybe thinking outside the box among the current winners of the award will also be the future great scientist. We reviewed the most high-profile experiments with the experts.

CATS ARE LIQUID

Well, finally announced publicly what had long been known about their Pets, the owners of the cute fuzzies. If you follow the rule that fluid substance called, which occupies all the available volume and takes the shape of the container, the cat, of course, fluid. A group of researchers from France, Singapore and the United States under the direction of Mark-Antoine Fardin “proved” this by using visual illustrations, and also added to the popular theory of a new fact: the adult animals of the cat family are spread out capacity faster than kittens. They handed over the “Nose” in the category “Physics”.

As commented in the University MISIS, as we would not want to write the cat in the discharge of the liquid, nothing happens. And all because she has skin, bones, organs, which are not liquid and, therefore, will not allow you to “numb” this “substance” in any given volume.

CROCODILE AS A KEY TO WINNING

But the next job makes you think of the players in gambling, and not only. Australians Matthew Roloff and Nancy Greer received the award in the nomination “Economy” for what proved the benefit of communicating with a live crocodile before participating in gambling. They made 62 men and 41 women first hold meter crocodile (jaw he was connected), and then make bets in the slot machines, popularly called “one-armed bandits”. It turned out that those who got as a result of communication with the crocodile a hefty dose of adrenaline, showed a greater activity — betting more often than the control group, up to five times per minute to four.

Says the psychologistMikhail Vinogradov: “When a person passes a dangerous test and gets left alive, the adrenaline rush, he has changed the level of thinking. Namely, increased reaction time, he will become better able to assess the situation. Apparently, these awakened as a result of stress and forced participants to rely more and more on their hand at the slot machines”.

SNORE? PLAY THE TUNE!

A group of scientists from the Netherlands have proven the benefits of playing a musical wind instrument of the Australian aboriginal didgeridoo for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (frequent pauses in breathing during sleep) and get rid of snoring. The experiment involved 25 people. Within four months, they played the didgeridoo 5-6 days a week for 25 minutes. Checking their condition after such exercise, the researchers came to the conclusion that the frequency of apnea events decreased and they started to snore much less.

Says doctor of biological Sciences Vladimir Kovalzon: “Snoring is the relaxation of the muscles of the larynx and pharynx, which arises and vibration of the soft adjacent tissues. Play a wind instrument, of course, helps to exercise the muscles of the larynx and pharynx, and hence leads to the reduction of the manifestations of snoring”.

Among the other seven works presented on competition of the humorous IG Nobel prize, the jury noted study of the growth of the ears of the elderly, who, as it turned out, continue to stretch throughout their life, an average of 0.2 mm per year, and an experiment on fluid dynamics, showing that a fluid-filled glass, not to throw out the content, best to wear, cover it with his hand down.